‘StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm’ Opening Cinematic Unveiled

Beyond being a developer that delivers some of the most popular PC games the world over, Blizzard Entertainment is known for their stunning gameplay cinematic. Though not exactly indicative of the final product, these cinematic usually establish a clear tone, while at the same time briefly teasing the experience in store for gamers.

The newest cinematic from the Blizzard camp is the opening to StarCraft 2‘s first major story expansion, Heart of the Swarm, and is nothing short of amazing. From the visuals to the storytelling, this is a Blizzard opening firing on all cylinders, even if it is comprised entirely of pre-rendered CG footage.

Narrated by the Queen of Blades herself, Kerrigan, the opening cinematic for StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm features plenty of destruction courtesy of the Zerg race’s most devastating creatures. And on the unfortunate receiving end of the Zerg forces are the Terrans, the major race featured in StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty.

Also of note is the newly humanized Kerrigan, who only has remnants of her Zerg form in this trailer — namely that iconic hairdo. The story in Heart of the Swarm is said to focus specifically on Kerrigan, and her quest to reclaim the Zerg throne, as it were. However, it’s a long road to the top, and as we can see from the cinematic, Kerrigan is a long way from “home.”

Much like Final Fantasy developer Squaresoft (now Square Enix) was urged to try their hand at feature film animation, we would like to see how Blizzard would fare if they delivered a StarCraft, or maybe even a WarCraft, movie. The various cinematics released to hype the game have all the makings of a solid narrative (beginning, middle, and end) and those are usually only a few minutes long. Maybe it’s a less is more thing.

Nevertheless, the release of this opening cinematic for Heart of the Swarm also signals that the release of the expansion is almost upon us — a little over a month away.

What do you think of the opening cienamtic for StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm? Which race are you most excited to play as?